When I sat down to chat with Brady Bunch favorite Barry Williams, he had literally just witnessed a boatload of weddings. Officiating at a vow renewal ceremony for couples on the ’70s Rock and Romance Cruise, Williams, who was onboard with his then-fiancée (the couple tied the knot in a solo ceremony this summer), enjoyed the excitement that came with the task and his official role as cruise host.

Said Williams of the ceremony he performed for a crowd of couples whose marital statuses ranged from one week to over half a century, “I think that kind of renewal–it’s important, because at some point you need to kind of reset and start over and remember why you got into a relationship in the first place. And I think this was a perfect place to do that.”

“I’m referring to this as a five-day music fantasy. It is reciprocal between the passengers and talent. The talent’s being recognized in a very, very positive, solid way. The passengers get to hang with their heroes.”

“I’ve never been on a themed cruise and [now] I’m not sure I’d want to go on anything else. It breaks down so many barriers and immediately you’re connected with the passengers and you’re not having to make enormous adjustments or just be off by yourself– you’re connected [by] the enthusiasm about sharing the same kind of generation, the same kind of experience, the same kind of passion for, in this case, the music. And I think songs of the ’70s, and the songwriters, and the types of music and the diversity of that decade speaks for itself. To have so many top acts here is a thrill,” explained Williams, pointing to shipboard performances by artists including Peter Frampton, America, Little River Band, Chuck Negron, and Christopher Cross.

Barry Williams with the author (photo by Zach Farnum)

He may love cruises, but these days Williams spends a lot of his time flying for fun. “Not many people know that I’m a private pilot. I fly single engine planes—usually Pipers or Cessnas. And because of my travel, I can go in and get checked out at whatever airport I’m staying at. And then my days off, I’ll go and cruise and learn the territory wherever I am. I live in the Ozark Mountains now and I see most of it from the air.”

The Brady Bunch television series will always be a special part of Barry Williams’ life and he’s never backed away from it. Is there anything in particular about Greg Brady that he still embraces? Williams doesn’t skip a beat, ”Well I think Greg earned a moniker of being America’s most reliable big brother. And I appreciate that.”

So, if grownup Greg Brady headed home for Thanksgiving and got into one of those tense family dinner table conversations, which sibling does Williams think Greg would support in the discussion? “I was pretty protective of Cindy,” said Williams offering up his hypothetical answer to side with his littlest sitcom sister. I feel Jan’s pain as she is cast aside again, but take comfort in the fact that it wasn’t because of Marcia Marcia Marcia.